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Rumoi Main Line
Rumoi Main Line
	A single KiHa 54 series DMU on the Rumoi Main Line in September 2011
Overview
Status	In operation
Owner	JR Hokkaido
Locale	JR Hokkaido
Termini	Fukagawa; Ishikari-Numata;
Stations	5
Service
Type	Regional rail
Operator(s)	JR Hokkaido
Rolling stock	KiHa 54 series DMU, KiHa 150 series DMU
History
Opened	23 October 1910
Closed	5 December 2016 (Rumoi–Mashike); 1 April 2023 (Ishikari-Numata–Rumoi) ; March 2026 (entire line) (planned)
Technical
Line length	14.4 km (8.9 mi)
Number of tracks	Entire line single tracked
Character	Rural
Track gauge	1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Electrification	None
Operating speed	95 km/h (59 mph)
Route map
Route map

The Rumoi Main Line (留萌本線, Rumoi-honsen) is a Japanese railway line in Hokkaido operated by Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido) which connects Fukagawa Station in Fukagawa and Ishikari-Numata Station in Numata. Following the discontinuation of service between Rumoi and Ishikari-Numata on April 1, the Rumoi Main Line is the shortest railway line in Japan to be classified as a 'main line', at just 14.4 kilometers.

On 19 November 2016, JR Hokkaido's president announced plans to further rationalize the network by up to 1,237 km (769 mi), or approximately 50% of the network,^[1] including closure of the remaining section of the Rumoi Main Line (the Rumoi to Mashike section closed on 5 December 2016). This section of track from Ishikari-Numata to Rumoi was closed on 1 April 2023, with the final train running on the 31 March 2023.

JR Hokkaido has announced the Fugagawa-Ishikari Numata section will close on 31 March 2026.

Stations

Stops legend: ●: All trains stop, ◆: some trains skip bidirectionally, ▼: some down trains skip

No.	Station name	Japanese	Between (km)	Distance (km)	Stop	Transfers	Location
A24	Fukagawa	深川		0.0	●	■ Hakodate Main Line	Fukagawa
	Kita-Ichiyan	北一已	3.8	3.8	▼		Fukagawa
	Chippubetsu	秩父別	5.0	8.8	▼		Chippubetsu, Uryū District
	Kita-Chippubetsu	北秩父別	2.4	11.2	◆		Chippubetsu, Uryū District
	Ishikari-Numata	石狩沼田	3.2	14.4	●		Numata, Uryū District

Closed section

Station name	Japanese	Between (km)	Distance (km)	Location
Mappu	真布	3.4	17.8	Numata, Uryū District
Ebishima	恵比島	2.9	20.7	Numata, Uryū District
Tōgeshita	峠下	7.6	28.3	Rumoi
Horonuka	幌糠	6.2	34.5
Fujiyama	藤山	5.5	40.0
Ōwada	大和田	4.2	44.2
Rumoi	留萌	5.9	50.1
Segoshi	瀬越	2.1	52.2
Reuke	礼受	4.0	56.2
Afun	阿分	1.3	57.5	Mashike, Mashike District
Nobusha	信砂	2.7	60.2
Shaguma	舎熊	0.8	61.0
Shumombetsu	朱文別	1.7	62.7
Hashibetsu	箸別	1.3	64.0
Mashike	増毛	2.8	66.8

History

The initial section of the line, between Fukagawa and Rumoi opened on 23 October 1910, and was extended to Mashike on 5 November 1921.^[2] The line was reclassified as a "main line" from 10 October 1931.^[2] With the privatization of Japanese National Railways (JNR) on 1 April 1987, the line came under the control of JR Hokkaido.^[2]

Closure plans

On 10 August 2015, JR Hokkaido informed the mayors of Rumoi and Mashike of its plans to close the 16.7 km (10.4 mi) section of the line from Rumoi to Mashike in 2016.^[3] In April 2016, it was officially announced that the section from Rumoi to Mashike would close, and the last service operated on 4 December of that year.^[4]

The 4 towns and cities along the remaining line, Rumoi, Numata, Chippubetsu and Fukagawa were in discussion with JR Hokkaido regarding the line's future, but Rumoi left the group as the city was already well-equipped so they didn't see keeping the railway open as necessary after Rumoi IC opened in Fukagawa-Rumoi Expressway.^[5]

In September 2022, JR Hokkaido submitted a proposal to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism to close an additional 35.7 km (22.2 mi) between Ishikari-Numata and Rumoi.^[6]^[7] As the closure was approved on 9 December 2022,^[8] the end of service was announced for 31 March 2023, and the closure occurred on 1 April 2023.^[9]^[10]

Although the rest of the municipalities proposed that the rest of the line remains open, the proposal failed when JR Hokkaido demanded 300,000,000 yen yearly to keep the line open.^[5] As a result, The remaining 14.4 km (8.9 mi) section to Fukagawa is slated to be closed in March 2026.^[7]

References

^ "JR Hokkaido says it can't maintain half of its railways". 10 May 2013. Archived from the original on 20 November 2016. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
^ ^a ^b ^c Ishino, Tetsu, ed. (1998). 停車場変遷大辞典国鉄・JR編 [Station Transition Directory - JNR/JR] (in Japanese). Vol. I. Japan: JTB. pp. 83, 129. ISBN 4-533-02980-9.
^ 留萌線（留萌～増毛間）の鉄道事業廃止について [Closure of Rumoi Line between Rumoi and Mashike]. Tetsudo Hobidas (in Japanese). Japan: Neko Publishing Co., Ltd. 10 August 2015. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
^ ＪＲ留萌線留萌―増毛間１２月４日に廃止増毛町が同意 [Mashike agrees to closure of JR Rumoi Line between Rumoi and Mashike on 4 December]. Doshin Web (in Japanese). Japan: The Hokkaido Shimbun Press. 8 April 2016. Archived from the original on 8 April 2016. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
^ ^a ^b big5 (2 November 2022). "【JR北海道】二段階で廃止へ－留萌本線を残せなかった理由とは". 鉄道協議会日誌 (in Japanese). Retrieved 30 April 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^ "JR北海道，留萌本線石狩沼田—留萌間の鉄道事業廃止届を提出" [JR Hokkaido Rumoi Main Line Ishikari-Numata - Rumoi service discontinuation proposal submitted]. Japan Railfan Magazine Online (in Japanese). 10 September 2022. Archived from the original on 11 September 2022. Retrieved 14 September 2022.
^ ^a ^b "留萌本線「一部廃止」来春にも JR北海道が国交相に届出、残る区間も3年半後まで" [Rumoi Main Line "Partially abolished": JR Hokkaido will notify the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism next spring, and the remaining section will be closed 3 and a half years later]. news.railway-pressnet.com (in Japanese). 9 September 2022. Archived from the original on 9 September 2022. Retrieved 14 September 2022.
^ "留萌本線の一部廃止「来年4月1日」確定朝ドラ『すずらん』明日萌駅も消滅 | 鉄道ニュース【鉄道プレスネット】" (in Japanese). 9 December 2022. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
^ "鉄道事業の一部廃止の日を繰り上げる届出について" (PDF). 国土交通省北海道運輸局鉄道部. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 December 2022. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
^ "留萌線（石狩沼田・留萌間）の廃止日繰上げの届出について" (PDF). 北海道旅客鉄道. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 December 2022. Retrieved 17 February 2023.